Much Ado About Nothing: Cog Sci Gets It Wrong Again.
A recent article in the NEW YORK TIMES, " Study Suggests Math Teachers Scrap Balls and Slice s," by the all-too-credulous reporter Kenny Chang, uncritically touts the results of a research study done by Jennifer A. Kaminski, a research scientist at the Center for Cognitive Science at Ohio State, and her colleagues, Vladimir M. Sloutsky and Andrew F. Heckler. Why is this of relevance to mathematics educators? Well, the study employed the so-called gold standard of research: a randomized, controlled experiment. And the educational conservatives, always hot for "data-based" evidence (as long as it's evidence that supports their politics), were quick to notice. Well, now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall, but I doubt we know anything useful about teaching and learning math from this study. It has only slightly more holes than the above-mentioned concert venue. First, as mentioned in the article, the researchers studied only college students an